Consumer Advisory Panels

This paper is a supplement to the CGAP Blog "Consumer Advisory Panels: A Tool to Bridge the Regulator-Consumer Gap" (August 2022).

Consumer advisory panels are an effective tool to elevate the voice of financial sector consumers in many countries. Greater input by consumers and their advocates into financial sector policies benefits all stakeholders – providers, customers, and regulators - through more informed oversight and timely identification of consumer risks.

This paper synthesizes desk research and in-depth discussions with consumer advisory panel representatives around the world. The purpose is to share some of the common features and good practices of consumer advisory panels with emerging market and developing economy (EMDE) authorities who are interested in creating one of their own. The research provided encouraging evidence that implementing an advisory panel is well within reach of EMDE authorities without a large resource drain, and would provide an effective new tool to improve their financial consumer protection (FCP) work.

Disclaimer

This work was funded in whole or in part by CGAP. Unlike CGAP's official publications, it has not been peer reviewed or edited by CGAP, and any conclusions or viewpoints expressed are those of the authors, and they may or may not reflect the views of CGAP staff.